Crochet Therapy

My latest project: basket weave patterned baby afghan. I'm so happy with the way this pattern turned out!

I made it for an old friend of mine who just had her fourth baby. Well, not just. I got a little sidetracked with the holidays, but she's still an infant.

I was reminded how calming and relaxing crocheting is for me. It's been a while since I've had a crochet project. But I already have more afghans than any single girl really needs.

This was truly a pleasurable project to create. Every stitch was made with love.

Animal Folks

INTRODUCING: 

ANIMAL FOLKS!

Adorable, right? I've had this idea for awhile---combining my love of crochet and sewing. And I would be lying if I didn't say this project wasn't a little like playing paper dolls---another of my major loves.

Mr. Fox was the first. I combined a few of my crochet patterns to make the doll part. Then I sat down with some paper to sketch out shirt, vest, and jacket patterns. After making sample clothes out of scrap fabric, I was ready to choose his wardrobe. DASHING!

Mr. Elephant came next. D.D. has always loved elephants. I had to pretty much create his body making up my own pattern. I don't know if you can tell, but he has a little belly paunch---D's idea. 

I couldn't find gray yarn in the same brand I made the fox out of, so the elephant is a little smaller. That means I also had to tailor his clothes to be smaller. I LOVE his jacket! My Mom used this corduroy to make matching outfits for us girls when we were small.

Mr. Rabbit came third. His blue velvet jacket is so soft! (I have a Sylvia-Louise handbag made out of it!) I have other animals in mind to try. I'm not sure if I will be making these to sell or not. Much of the clothing is hand stitched due to the nature of it being so small. And these are not child safe toys. (Plastic eyes, small buttons)

So far I've only made gentlemen. I'm not sure if I could make ladies outfits to equal those of the men. We'll see!

Busy Bunnies

We've had a lot on our plate recently, but we've also been busy creating ALL NEW Easter products.

work in progress

Check out FlyAKite soon for all the latest updates! 

And have you 'LIKED' our FlyAKite facebook page yet? Stop by and be on the lookout for exclusive discounts/coupon codes.

Valentine Swap

I know I'm late.

I participated in the Oh Strumpets Valentine Swap again this year. It's a fun way to meet someone, discover a new blog and craft something you maybe wouldn't normally. My swap buddy was Rachel from Australia. Here's her blog. She gave me lots of great ideas---she has a variety of likes and interests. I was racking my brain about what to make her when I glanced up at the wall in my living room.

Rachel told me she liked deer. I could make her a wall hanging like mine.

This is Rachel's. She told me she loves it!

I also crocheted her a sweet little heart, added some candy hearts and a "grow" your own Valentine bouquet.

And this is what Rachel sent me! She knows I LOVE crochet and owls. It was so fun getting gifts from another country! 

Check out pics of other swappers gifts on the Oh Strumpet's craft flickr group.

Sock Monkey

Adorable, right?

We'll be introducing Mr. Sock Monkey to our FlyAKite shop soon. I just had to share him. He would already be in the shop, but I made him as a gift for my cousin and his wife who are expecting their first baby and I forgot to take his measurements. So as soon as I make another he will be available for purchase as a made to order item.

It's Friday Night . . .

. . . and I'm home alone. What did I do? I crocheted a beanie I've been meaning to make for weeks. I made it to cover my greasy hair-do. It's greasy because I love having it straight and tried to stretch it one more day.

Then I took a few fun photos with my camera. The beanie is red because it's my favorite color AND it's almost Christmas. It's just a coincidence that I was wearing a comfy red hoodie. 

Not that this was very exciting. I guess I could have just washed my hair.

Creativity in my veins

Today being Mother's Day, I was reflecting about all the wonderful women who have fostered and nurtured creativity in my life. I have had so many great examples, and treasure troves of talent to explore.

I was born to crochet. I didn't know I had this particular talent until about 10 years ago. I have always been surrounded by crochet, but I never thought of doing it myself.

This is me and my great-grandma Wilde. I never really knew her, but she gave me the afghan pictured in the background. It is one giant granny square. I have many childhood memories with this afghan. It became everything from a shawl when playing dress up to part of an under-the-stairs fort. It was very well made, and it was never allowed outside, so it still looks really good. It is something I treasure because when I look at it, I feel connected to my great-grandma.

Satterthwaite great-grandparents and me.

My great-grandma Satterthwaite was amazing at crochet. She made countless afghans in her lifetime. She was so good that she could sit watching TV or carrying on a conversation and never look down at her hands while she worked. To raise funds for the new church building in Garden City, great-grandma Satterthwaite crocheted afghans to be auctioned off.

This afghan was made from yarn remnants of those donated afghans. I will keep this forever.

These are 2 more my grandma recently gave me.

My grandma Wilde, daughter of great-grandma Satterthwaite, inherited her mother's crochet ability. She has made at least one receiving blanket for each of her 24 grandchildren and 27 great-grandchildren.

                                                 

This is newborn me on my receiving blanket made by grandma Wilde.

And this is the afghan she made me for my college graduation.

With all this talent in my blood I still had no desire to crochet. Yet. A few years ago I bought a skein of yarn, a couple of crochet hooks and asked grandma Wilde if she could teach me crochet. We sat on the couch in her living room (I have the picture taken of us somewhere) with the yarn between us and she taught me the basic chain stitch, double crochet stitch and the importance of keeping the tension consistent. My first project started with tight little stitches and progressed to fewer, bigger stitches. While the tension and stitch count changed from beginning to the end, somehow the dimensions stayed pretty much the same. It doesn't look skewed in any way unless you start counting stitches.

I progressed to other stitch patterns and various yarn textures. I taught myself how to read patterns and began adapting them to fit my own projects. I now have more than a few scarves and plenty of throw blankets around the house to keep warm.

Not too long ago, my sister and I started our own handbag company. We embellish each bag to make them one of a kind. It didn't take long before crochet embellishments became a popular theme. And then we started making them from wool and felting them.

Crochet is a part of my heritage, and is very calming for me. I love to crochet. I am always coming up with new ideas and projects.

I am grateful for the women in my life and grateful for all they have taught me. 

Happy Mother's Day!

Afghan Scarf

Meet my new scarf! I suppose if I am going to introduce you I should give it a name. It is only the polite thing to do. I'll start over. Meet Miss Agatha! She looks like an Agatha don't you think?

This has been my project this week. It definitely took longer than I anticipated. It is so soft, and plush, and warm. And maybe just a tad heavy. I doubled up the strands of yarn and tried a new stitch called "Pineapple." Each bobble consists of 16 strands! It didn't turn out anything like the picture showed, but I love the result! Because of the thickness it is a bit like a portable afghan. Perfect!

It measures 100"x12"

Now if I only had somewhere cold to wear it! North Pole here I come!

Mother Goose

The fair maid who, the first of May,

Goes to the fields at break of day,

And washes in dew from the hawthorn-tree,

Will ever after handsome be.

Once upon a time, many, many months ago I found some FANTASTIC upholstery fabric. I had visions of how fabulous it would be. The only problem was I didn't know what I wanted to embellish it with. I had enough for two bags. DD knew exactly what she wanted, so I made her bag embellishments and all. And it turned out great! Much time passed and I finally decided to make up my own version. In the meantime I had designed a new style, The Bette, and that is where I got stuck. What should I put on it? What colors should I use? I stewed and fretted. After pain, blood, tears and too many crocheted flowers I had a rough idea about what it might look like.

When it was all said and done, my first thought was that I had created a Mother Goose Bag. It looks just like the nursery rhymes I used to know from my childhood. I still love the fabric, but I'm not sure I love the bag. I'll use it everyday for a while. The lining was another struggle, but I'm pleased with what I chose. The best part of this bag is the pocket material. I found a quarter flat that I fell in live with. The photo doesn't do it justice.

I've already started planning my next personal project. I've just got to let my stitching fingers heal little first.